Today I though I’d give you a peek at what it’s like inside my head. It’s a scary place, chock full of ideas, plans and sometimes paralysis! I’m an idea person…that means I see something and I think hmmm…how can I do that? But I’m also a vision person…which means I see a yarn and it must be X.
I’m also an organized person. I have lists of patterns to write, patterns to try, patterns to update, blog post ideas, yarns to try, products to try and review, you get the idea. So many lists! (and may I just say that I got a Kindle Scribe for Christmas, which I understand is a reading tool, but it has a pen and a notebook feature and it is the best paper replacement I have ever written on and now I’m back to writing on technology rather than the beautiful notebook bought specifically for that purpose). But I’m also anti-list so I make a list of things to do on a specific day but I get to that day and I do something totally different because I can’t be ruled by a list. So I add the new things I did do to the old lists (because I like crossing things out) and the old things don’t get done but at least I’ve achieved something.
Most days I start working about 7:30 am. I start with the brain work…pattern writing, blog posts, newsletters. Unexpectedly, I’m really enjoying these tasks and they are beginning to take up more of my time. I’ve always loved writing and since I know people are actually reading my blogs and newsletters (thank you to everyone who takes the time to comment, it means a lot to me) it’s quite fun to do. I make a cup of tea in my favourite mug and settle in at the kitchen counter for a couple hours of “head work”.
Now, I (sadly) cannot live by weaving alone, so things like grocery shopping and cleaning and laundry all need to get done as well as working 3 days a week. So after my brain feels fried, I take a break and get some of the mundane tasks done while I ponder what to put on my loom. And this is where the paralysis might happen.
I don’t have a huge stash, but it’s a decent size. And I have lists of projects to do, so in theory, I should just be able to look at my list, grab the required yarn and get started. But sometimes I just can’t make a decision. Or I can’t make a colour decision, or I don’t have the “right” colour. This is when my husband might walk in on me in the closet with all my yarn scattered everywhere and listen to me lament that I don’t have the right yarn! He does not understand, but he tries. Actually he’s great, he just tells me to go buy it!
(And speaking of my husband, he is absolutely my biggest fan! He has never complained about the mess or as my weaving has slowly eaten up all the living space we have, he has the best ideas, and he encourages me to buy more stuff! He’s even picked up some of the terms and can used them correctly! He has put his foot down when it comes to me getting another loom, but I know if I got another one, he’d be ok with it. I currently have a 60” floor loom, an inkle loom and a 20”, 30”, 32” and 48” rigid heddle. And he solves my technology issues because technology issues make me cry!)
But now I’ve got all the yarn laid out and some say they want to be one thing, and others want to be something else and somehow I never have exactly everything I need for a whole project and as I go through the yarns I’m reminded of ideas that haven’t made it to the list yet, and my yarn should be sorted better and how should I sort it, and now my head is so full that I can’t think anymore and my paralysis is complete. (Please tell me I am not alone in this!)
I have tried to solve this issue by putting projects in bags, everything in the bag required for a single project, 3 or 4 projects ready to go so I don’t have to think, but when it comes time to warp the next project I don’t want to be ruled by the decisions of my past self. *sigh*
If the paralysis has truly taken over, I peruse my Pinterest boards for inspiration. And if that doesn’t help, I kick-start the process by warping a tea towel. Because the only way to get unstuck is to get started on something, anything! Once I get one project going, it seems to relieve the paralysis and I can decide what to put on the other looms too.
Then, once I get started weaving, I can easily weave until 10 or 11pm when my eyes won’t stay open any longer! So I sleep, and then I get up and start the whole process again!
I do hope you have found this entertaining, and maybe affirming…if you are like me you aren’t alone. And maybe you have ideas to help me? Storage and organization ideas, how to pick the next project ideas, how to stop rebelling against my past self, how to ease the longing for a new loom…